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51 of 51 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Saotome School of Anything Goes DVD, October 23, 2001
This review is from: Ranma 1/2 - The Digital Dojo - The Complete First Season (Box Set) (DVD)
When I first heard of Ranma 1/2, the premise alone made me steer clear. A boy, cursed in an ancient Chinese spring, turns into a girl whenever splashed with cold water. Hot water undoes the curse, but only until the next time. I wanted nothing to do with this gender bender series billed as a martial arts sex comedy. I couldn't have been more wrong. A good friend made me watch it, and I was hooked. In a series that pokes fun at gender stereotypes, with martial arts hijinx, a mismatched marriage engagement between the hapless Ranma Saotome, cursed to become a girl in cold water, and the boy-hating Akane Tendo, who would sooner die than admit her feelings for Ranma, this is a hilarious series. Season One introduces us to the amazing characters; Ranma, Akane and her sisters, Kasumi and Nabiki, and several rivals for both the hearts of Ranma and Akane. As we watch Ranma struggle to deal with not one, but two engagements, as the Chinese Amazon warrior Shampoo enters the scene. And marvel at the antics of the eternally lost boy, Ryoga Hibiki, Ranma's rival for Akane's heart, and bearer of a "dark secret". Let me put it this way, if you want a great laugh that you know will always be around to treasure, then you can't go wrong getting Ranma 1/2 on DVD. Your sense of direction would have to be worse than Ryoga Hibiki's to pass this up.
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22 of 23 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Great Start to a Very Entertaining Series, September 1, 2003
This review is from: Ranma 1/2 - The Digital Dojo - The Complete First Season (Box Set) (DVD)
Ranma 1/2 is by far the most entertaining anime series I have watched to date. Having watched Cowboy Bebop, Trigun, Dragonball (Z), etc. I have to say that Ranma 1/2 is easily the most original and hilarious. Although there is plenty of martial arts action, it is also refreshing that no-one ever gets killed. The premise of the Ranma 1/2 series lies in the hilarious situations that occur due to the love interests of the many colorful characters. Needless to say Ranma is in the center of the whole convoluted scenario being the "unwilling" recipient of affections from both female and male suitors (while in his female form). The fact that Ranma is able to turn into a girl makes for some of the funniest situations imaginable. I have now watched the first 4 seasons of Ranma 1/2 in chronological order and I think seasons 1 and 2 are the best. Season one introduces you to the main characters and sets the background for following episodes. Yet each episode is entertaining and usually adds a new character or interesting story element. Someone who is very familiar with the series may find some of the first few episodes "thin" because many of the main characters don't get introduced till later. However, for those who are relatively new, I think the build up in history and character development is perfect. Enough time is devoted to each new character introduced to give them some depth. In the season 1 set, the story line is relatively linear from episode to episode (each episode continues where the last left off). In seasons 3 and 4 this no longer occurs quite as much with the some episodes becoming almost completely "stand alone". In conclusion this is a set that all Ranma fans should have and anime fans that haven't yet watched Ranma should definitely start here.
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14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A DVD boxed set that's truly worthy of the format, May 5, 2002
This review is from: Ranma 1/2 - The Digital Dojo - The Complete First Season (Box Set) (DVD)
Just in case you've never seen Ranma 1/2, here's the plot in a nutshell: on a training mission with his father, Ranma falls into a cursed spring and now turns into a girl (who happens to be red-haired and...er, well-endowed) when doused with cold water, and back into a boy with hot. Everything else is just a zany, ever-expanding web of elaboration on this main theme. It's closely based on the long-running, successful Japanese manga (comic book) of the same name. The show has a huge cast of characters, including but not limited to: Ranma's reluctant fiancee, Akane; his father, Genma, and his rival, Ryoga, both of whom have their own curse; Tatewaki Kuno and his sister Kodachi, who are in love with female and male Ranma respectively; and about a zillion other characters who are introduced later in the series. This first DVD set has the entire first season of the TV show. All of the episodes are good, with the exception of the last one (which is a "lousy clip show," to quote the Simpsons). It takes you through many of the major events of Ranma 1/2: Ranma and Akane's first meeting and the introduction of Ryoga, the Kunos, and Chinese amazon Shampoo. The DVD format is ideal for anime, and this is no exception. Allowing you to see it both subtitled and dubbed, letting you skip to your favorite chapter, and creditless opening and closing segments are just a few of the perks with the DVD version. Just keep in mind that the animation (which was done about ten years ago) was not terribly high-quality to begin with - don't be disappointed if it doesn't look like more modern, glossy animation, and rest assured that it still looks much better on DVD than it ever did on VHS.
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